Enter Queens

Middle Density, Rafael Herrin-Ferri, Survey, Territory and mobility, Urban Paradigms

Housing, Neighborhood, New York, Photographic Atlas of the Cities, Photography, Residential, Street Culture, Survey, Urban Paradigms, USA, Vernacular

Perhaps the most engaging aspect of the Queens vernacular is at street level where the specifics of entering a highly modified, idiosyncratic housing stock are articulated to produce non-traditional and sometimes very surprising configurations. This series of photographs – part of the All the Queens Houses survey – features some of the most original examples of “entry conditions” the borough has to offer. There is almost always a dynamic relationship to the ground plane due to the multiple points of access these simple residential structures try to accommodate: the main stair (rarely in the classic straight Manhattan or Brooklyn stoop format), basement or cellar access (legal or otherwise), and in many cases, a garage or carport that is tied into the overall “front-of-house” composition, either with paint or the ubiquitous aluminum step-down awning.